There's plenty for New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams to like about Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers

Two years ago in the New Orleans Arena, Monty Williams was being introduced as the coach of the New Orleans Hornets. And there he was Friday, in the same meet-the-media room, introducing the newest additions to his basketball team.

Chris Granger / The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams, right, jokes with his new players Austin Rivers, far left, and Anthony Davis, center, after their introduction to the city and media at a ceremony at the New Orleans Arena on Friday.

Considering all Coach Williams has been through, inheriting a franchise with changing ownership, with a merry-go-round roster, with a team that had almost as many player injuries as turnovers, you figure Monty would have shown up in a wheelchair.

With a nurse at his side.

But there he was, father of five, a picture of composure, smiling, holding a sleeping 2-year-old, Micah, on his shoulder, answering questions about how nice it is to have Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers as members of the family.

How could an NBA coach, obsessed with defense, not fall in love with someone like Davis, a 6-foot-10, 220-pounder who can block shots within inches of the rim as well as midcourt, who can change a game without scoring a point, not be welcomed aboard?

And how can you not like Austin Rivers, the 6-4 guard out of Duke, who some pundits suggested his negative was that of a guy suffering from an overdose of cockiness?

“I think all great players are cocky,” Rivers said. “You have to be. You have to have an ego. It’s just making sure it’s a healthy ego. You don’t want to have an arrogance or cockiness that affects the team and that’s something I’ve never had. My ego and my confidence has rubbed off on other people in a positive way.”

Going into the draft, Rivers talked like someone who was willing to benefit from the advice of his agent, David Falk, whose clients have included the likes of Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson.

“Austin Rivers has the drive to be successful in this game,” Falk said about the son of Celtics Coach Doc Rivers. “He was born to play the game. Better yet, he knows what it takes to play at the professional level.”

Don’t worry how high you are drafted, Falk told Rivers. Just be more concerned at landing with a team that’s a good fit for your skills.

Falk offered two examples. Roy Hibbert was drafted 17th by Toronto in 2008, then immediately traded to the Indiana Pacers. He made the All-Star team just in time to demand a big contract when he becomes a free agent this summer.

Another Falk client, Kawhi Leonard, was picked 15th by the Pacers last year, traded on draft night to San Antonio where he wound up as a contributor to a team that reached the Western Conference finals.

So what does Austin Rivers say?

“I’m just where I want to be.”

Which takes you back to a No. 1 pick.

In 19-year-old Anthony Davis, Williams knows he has a “franchise” player who can fit in with anyone, a leader who “speaks softly but carries a big stick,” someone who has proven he belongs.

Davis had no idea how good a player he’d become.

“I thought I’d come in and be a regular guy,” he said. “I thought I would just make shots, block a couple of shots and finish around the rim. I didn’t think I would have as much of an impact as I’m having.”

It wasn’t ego speaking.

It was simple truth.

Someone like Anthony would be a godsend to any basketball team. In the current case of the Hornets, a team still in search of “a big,” a “center,” one thing is clear.

Whoever Monty Williams and General Manager Dell Demps come up with will find an ideal family member in Anthony Davis.

As we speak, Williams can’t wait for free-agent shooting guard Eric Gordon, and his 20-point scoring average, to come aboard, to see how he blends into the picture of a brand-new lineup with all sorts of promise.

He put it this way: “A center does not come around but once in every 25 years, and Davis is not a center. But he does things that centers do. Growing up by nine inches in high school, from junior to senior, having some of those non-center skills, having the ability to do what he does on the defensive side, sets him apart. He doesn’t remind me of anyone, not Tim Duncan, not Dwight Howard. He has the potential to be his own player, something different.”